The Duran Podcast Dirty war continues. NATO wants escalation
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Feb 8, 2026 They unpack a prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi and how diplomatic backchannels shaped the outcome. Military-to-military contacts between the US and Russia return to the table. Discussion covers assassination attempts, covert attacks and rising sabotage. They analyze Ukraine's internal rivalries and how European politics and funding mechanisms affect the conflict's trajectory.
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Talks Produced Contacts Not A Deal
- Abu Dhabi talks yielded a prisoner swap and resumed US–Russia military contacts but produced no Ukrainian settlement progress.
- Alexander Mercouris argues Russia gained parity in prisoners and secured military-to-military dialogue with the US.
Assassination Undermines Negotiations
- An assassination attempt on a senior Russian GRU officer occurred around the talks, undermining trust.
- Mercouris says this likely escalates the dirty war and signals Ukrainian hostility to negotiations.
Past Ukrainian Internal Killings
- Mercouris recounts a 2022 internal Ukrainian killing of a negotiator tied to Budanov's network.
- He says the SBU admitted the killing after mistakenly thinking the man was a Russian agent.